The consensus prediction for Apple’s Q2 earnings call later today is that the company will reveal iPhone sales some way below earlier analyst expectations. While analysts expect Apple to hit guidance, which would see revenue almost $8B up year-on-year, talk of the iPhone X driving an iPhone 6-like ‘supercycle’ has disappeared.
Assuming that turns out to be the case, it will put increased focus on the company’s revenue from Services …
As the WSJ notes, investors will want to see what progress Apple has made toward its stated goal of delivering more than $50B in revenue from Services.
Services includes income from:
- Apps
- iTunes music sales
- iTunes media sales & rentals
- Apple Music subscriptions
- iCloud storage paid tiers
- Apple Pay commissions
- AppleCare sales
One substantial and oft-forgotten element is the payment Google makes to Apple in return for being the default search engine on iOS. The last-known figure of $1B a year dates back to 2014, but one financial firm estimates that it was as high as $3B last year.
One analyst expects Apple to announce as much as 18-20% growth last quarter, putting it close to $30B/year so far, reports Bloomberg.
We’ll of course bring you all the numbers and live coverage when the earnings call begins at 2pm PT/5pm ET.